How to read a mushroom

Identification is a matter of collecting several features and looking at them together. No single feature settles it.

The parts

• Cap. Note shape, size, color, texture (dry, sticky, scaly, smooth) and the edge.
• Underside of the cap. Gills (blade-like), pores (a sponge-like surface), teeth or spines, or ridges. How they attach to the stem matters.
• Stem (stipe). Note length, thickness, texture, color, whether it is hollow or solid, and whether it has a ring.
• Base of the stem. Some dangerous mushrooms have a cup-like sack (volva) or a bulb at the base, often hidden underground. This is why you dig up the whole mushroom rather than cutting it off at the surface.
• Flesh. Color, texture, and whether it changes color when cut or bruised.
• Smell. Record it, but do not taste unknown mushrooms.

Habitat and growth

Record what the mushroom was growing on or beside: soil, rotting wood, a living tree (and what kind), leaf litter, grass or dung. Note whether it grew alone, scattered or in clusters. Habitat is a big part of an identification.

Spore prints

A spore print shows the color of the mushroom’s spores, which is a useful clue.

1. Cut the cap off the stem.
2. Place it gill side or pore side down on paper. Using both white and dark paper, or a sheet of glass over a white and a dark background, lets you see pale and dark spores.
3. Cover with a bowl or cup to keep air still.
4. Wait several hours, or overnight, then lift the cap.

Common spore print colors include white, cream, pink, brown, purple-brown and black. Spore print color helps narrow possibilities. It is one clue among several and never enough on its own.

Take good photos

Photograph the whole mushroom from the top, side and underside, plus a cut section and the base. Include its surroundings. These are the photos an expert will want to see, although photos are not a substitute for an in-person look. See Lesson 8.